Froststar's Story
by SailorOfStars
Summary: Frostkit is born into what seems like peaceful times for all of the Clans. But as she progresses through her life, she realizes these peaceful times are hiding something much deeper. Every group of cats around the lake are plunged into times of fierce battle. She must uncover who or what is behind all of these murders and conflicts before the Clans are left in eternal darkness.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

The first thing I remember about my kithood was my mother's face. Why it was the thing I remember most, is because it was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. I was confused, a little scared. All of the scents and sights overwhelming my senses, but her face smiling down at me made everything feel alright.

Her fur was long and swept over the moss-covered ground like a weeping willow. It was pale gray with darker stripes along her back, the top of her tail, and head. Although her fur was long, she herself was small with delicate features. Her tail was also short, and plumed like a big fluffy feather. Her muzzle was pure white, like she had dipped it in a snowdrift. Her eyes were very pale blue and seemed to be drenched with kindness, care, and protecting motherly nature. She welcomed me with a purr and a lick on the forehead, snuggling me close to her soft fur.

"Welcome to RiverClan, Frostkit," she mewed. I wasn't really listening at the moment, as I was in awe from this whole new world that had opened up to me.

There was a soft rustle in the rushes. The sound was followed by the black face of a tom. Mother didn't retaliate or growl, so I thought he was okay. Turns out he was my father, Nightheart.

"Cloudfeather, Frostkit opened her eyes!" he mewed. His voice was strong and confident, with a soft edge of pride and excitement. He nuzzled mom's cheek, and the purring noise was confusing at first. But I was soon nuzzled myself, a gesture of comfort.

"None of the others have though. Coalkit and Moonkit are still sleeping away, although I expect they'll have their eyes open later today," mewed Cloudfeather.

"Moonkit, so you finally found a name for the gray and black she-kit. Is it because of her gray color?" Nightheart looked down at the kit, the smallest of the litter.

"No, although that does fit. She was crawling around the other day and something sharp near the den gave her this." Cloudfeather lifted the she-kit's cheek with a paw, revealing a crescent shaped cut. "It's too small for Mudstripe to treat, but it'll leave a scar, so the name will stick."

There wasn't much I could do at that moment, just gaze around at this new world and maybe mewl a bit. It seemed big at the time, but the nursery was just only the beginning. So this part of my life was pretty important. Opening my kit-blue eyes and gazing all around me. It was then I noticed my siblings.

I had known they were there, but now, like everything else, I was seeing them for the first time. Moonkit was tiny and fluffy, with gray and black fur. Of course she had that signature cut just below her unopened eye, her namesake. Then there was Coalkit. His fur was sleek and black, with ginger paws, ears and tail tip. He was bigger than the both of us, and was always wriggling around.

It was just a few moments after Nightheart had left when Coalkit blinked a few times and opened his eyes. He had stopped squirming around just to do that, and then he went back to being hyper again. Can you believe it; a kit just opening his eyes for the first time, and not bothering to take a look around? I can't, but it happened, so I guess I had to believe.

It was then I noticed the rushing water outside. It was coming from the back of the den, through the thick brambles. I stumbled towards the back, my legs were still unsteady and it was mostly crawling.

"I see you've found the river, Frostkit," meowed Cloudfeather. "RiverClan camp is on an island, you know. Very safe."

I mewled softly. _An island! Wow! _I started getting back up on my feet and collapsed flat on my stomach again. Walking for the first time is much harder than it looks, trust me. But I wasn't giving up that quickly. I got up again, only to be startled by a sharp mew.

"Oh, look kits! Your sister opened her eyes!" Squealed Cloudfeather. I waddled unsteadily over to Moonkit, whose kit blue eyes were wide and full of wonder, just like mine were. She blinked with shock, probably thinking if this was real.

I was just making it over to my sister, when the babbling of the river called to me once again. It seemed to say my name, _Frostkit, Frostkit come play, come over Frostkit. _I realized my quest and started to run over to the back.

The burbling had come to its loudest. I was just about to crawl through a gap in the brambles when I felt a tug on my scruff. Cloudfeather lifted me up and away from the stream and tucked me by her stomach along with my littermates.

"No, Frostkit," she mewed in a soothing tone. "You'll have to wait to go in the river. When you're an apprentice and you can swim you can go in."

I huffed with frustration. RiverClan cats were known for swimming, and why not start now? I could be the best swimmer in all of the Clans if I got a head start.

The brambles rustled again as a sleek furred brown tabby walked into the den with his mouth full of leaves. It was Mudstripe, the medicine cat.

"Ah, so the kits have opened their eyes," he purred.

Cloudfeather nodded and puffed out her chest fur slightly with pride for her kittens. "Just a few moments ago. They're all healthy and strong."

Mudstripe set the leaves down at Cloudfeather's paws. "It's borage, to get the milk coming. It'll help a lot, even though it's greenleaf and the prey is running well."

Cloudgaze lapped up the leaves and stuck out her tongue at the bitter taste. While Cloudgaze was eating the herbs, I took the time to study Mudstripe.

He was older, with silver hairs tingeing the edges of his muzzle and around his whiskers. His fur was short and sleek, clean of any scars and cuts but flaked with bits of leaf and pollen from moons of work. His ears were tall and slim, same with the rest of his body; Long legs and tail, slim figure. His green eyes were deep like pine trees, full of wisdom but slightly dulled with age. He smelled like flowers and a bit like mud. There was an air of knowledge and care all around him.

With a flick of his tail he left the den and headed back towards the medicine cat's den. I noticed that Coalkit had stopped squirming, and was instead watching Mudstripe with rapt attention. My brother ran out behind Mudstripe, but Cloudfeather grabbed his scruff and pulled him back in.

"Soon, Coalkit. You can't leave the nursery just yet, you have to wait a few more moons," she mewed. Coalkit was plopped down beside me. Moonkit had fallen asleep through all of this. Clearly she'd had her fill of the den.

It was so unfair that we couldn't leave the den! "A few more moons," Cloudfeather would meow every time we tried to leave. I didn't want to wait, and no kit ever would! There was more out there than just the nursery, and I needed to know what it was.

I sat beside the entrance for a few moments, gazing out at the activity around camp. Warriors were bringing in prey, apprentices were sloshing across the river behind their mentors, and elders were telling stories and sunbathing outside in the warm sunlight.

Just looking at them was making me sleepy. I looked back over to my littermates. Both were sleeping peacefully, nuzzled up against Cloudfeather's soft tabby fur. A nap sounded great now.

I crept over to Cloudfeather, and climbed up into the crook of her feathery tail. The bright sunhigh sunlight warmed my fur. I blinked sleepily a few times, then closed my eyes for a long sleep. Going outside slipped my mind for now. As long as I was nestled here, I could wait.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Take that, ShadowClan scum!" squealed Coalkit. He darted around me, swiping his paws playfully with tiny kit claws sheathed. This was his favorite game: ShadowClan vs. RiverClan. I always ended up being ShadowClan.

I gave a little shriek as he pounced on my back. I shook in an attempt to get him off, but he held fast and I collapsed under his weight.

"Ha! RiverClan wins again!" he puffed out his chest and mrrowed with triumph.

"No fair! You're way bigger than me," I huffed. It was true, he had grown a lot in the last two moons. Moonkit was still the smallest, and I wasn't much bigger than her.

Coalkit just ignored me and pranced around the den like he really _had_ won against ShadowClan. He was so arrogant, and I couldn't help but give a huff of annoyance. But even though he was a mouse-brain, he was my brother and I was stuck with him.

"Oh, kits! Look at your fur!" exclaimed Cloudfeather. She picked me up by the scruff and plopped me down next to her. Her rough tongue cleaned me all over, getting all the dust off from our scuffle.

"Mo-omm!" I yowled. She was just so, so, _mom! _She continued to lick me, ignoring my complaint.

"There, all clean," Cloudfeather purred. She then picked up Coalkit and started to lick him as well. He gave loud mewls of protest and squirmed all around, but he couldn't get away from Cloudfeather's grasp.

Moonkit wasn't one for fighting, so she had just watched quietly from the fluffy crook of Cloudfeather's tail. She was the quietest of us all, and preferred to watch instead of playing with me and Coalkit. We would try to get her to play, but she always refused.

"Moonkit, come here. You need to look nice for your first day out of the nursery," meowed Cloudfeather. Moonkit slowly padded over and Cloudfeather started to lick Moonkit's fluffy fur flat.

"Out of the nursery?" mewed Coalkit. "Really?"

Cloudfeather nodded. "It's about time you met some of the other cats in the Clan."

I bounced up and down with excitement. All we'd ever seen beyond the nursery was the view from the gap in the brambles. And I'd only met the cats who came in here to see Smokewing, who was pregnant with a litter, or bring Cloudfeather or Smokewing prey or herbs. But I hadn't really met those cats, just seen them.

"Remember kits," Cloudfeather mewed sternly. "Stay away from the river. It rushes far too fast for small kits like you. I don't want you getting hurt. Promise you won't go to the river?"

"We promise," my siblings and I mewed almost in unison, but very quickly. We all wanted to see the camp and all of the cats in it.

We charged out of the nursery and took off in different directions. Moonkit went to the center, far away from the river like Cloudfeather told us. Coalkit was exploring a tall mound by the leader's den and trying uselessly to climb it. I myself bounded over to a pair of larger cats sharing prey not too far away from the mound.

"Hi! I'm Frostkit," I purred. I was so excited to meet new cats, cats that I would one day fight alongside or share tongues with.

"Hey there Frostkit, I'm Flowerpaw," said the brown and white she-cat. "This is my brother, Fadedpaw." She flicked her tail towards the cream coloured tom holding a carp in his dark paws.

"Are you apprentices?" I mewed. Now it would seem obvious to me that they were because of their names, but back then I couldn't be too sure.

"We are, but we should be warriors by now. Duskstar just thinks we need extra training because of that one time at the Gathering," grumbled Fadedpaw. He took another bite of the carp and growled a little.

"Ugh, don't even bring that up. I still check my prey thoroughly before eating it. I never want an incident like that again." Flowerpaw stuck out her tongue and made a 'blech' noise.

I, like anyone, wanted to know what happened. It took every ounce of willpower in my tiny kit body to keep from asking, but it was obvious they didn't want to talk about it.

I gave a goodbye with the flick of my tail and walked over to another den. There a reddish brown tom was talking with two she-cats.

"…It was as long as my tail! I had to let it go, though. It was too heavy to carry back to camp, even if all of our warriors lifted it," mewed the tom. The she-cats watched with a good amount of attention, but also with looks of scepticism on their faces.

"Sure you did, Burnscar. And where did you catch this tail-long fish?" purred a silvery-gray tabby.

"Over by the halfbridge where I was doing a patrol," he mewed. "Of course you and Shimmertail combined wouldn't be able to lift the tail of it."

As I got closer to them, I saw Burnscar's namesake. Up his cheek and along what was left of his ear was a large, charred burn. Of course the burn- part was for his reddish color, the scar- part was of course from a scar he got while rescuing a kit from a fire along the WindClan border.

The silvery-gray tabby was the first to notice I was there. "Oh, hey there kit," she mewed.

"Hi there! I'm Frostkit," I purred. I had never known there were so many cats in RiverClan!

"I'm Rainpool. This is my sister Shimmertail, and this mouse-brain is Burnscar. Is this your first day out of the nursery?"

I nodded and waved my tail back and forth for a moment, showing off for the older cats. My tail was feathery like Cloudfeather's, and made a _swish-swish _sound when I waved it. I liked that sound.

"Well aren't you adorable!" purred Shimmertail. "I've always wanted kits of my own, but I'm still looking for the right tom."

"Well you know I have no mate, Shimmertail," mrrowed Burnscar.

"Fat chance!" yowled Shimmertail, followed by a purr of amusement from Rainpool.

I swished my tail again and ran off, looking for more cats. There was a tightly woven bramble and reed den off to the edges of the camp. From where I was standing, I could see the entire floor of the den was covered in soft, springy moss and downy feathers. Being the kit I was, I decided to explore the den.

As I padded around the den, the springy moss cooled my dry paws. It was a dry greenleaf, so it was amazing there could be such soft and abundant moss. I sniffed the feathers, causing a sniffle, followed by a sneeze from the ticklish down. The walls were woven so only tiny slivers of sunlight managed to peek through the reeds and brambles. The air that whistled through these cracks gave a cool breeze, but still kept the air at a cozy temperature. This was the most comfy den I had ever seen.

I rolled in the moss and prodded it with my paws, enjoying the great feeling. I purred and mrrowed with comfort and pleasure. As I pounced on a floating feather, a dark shape blocked the light coming in from the entrance. I looked up with surprise painted on my face, spotting a much older cat standing in front of me.

He was muscular and large, but had short legs. His fur was jet-black without any sort of marking whatsoever on his mussed up pelt. His muzzle was flat and flecked with gray hairs, and his ears were short and slightly leaned forwards. His deep amber eyes were narrowed, but not with anger or annoyance, they were just naturally like that.

"Oh, uh, is this your nest?" I stuttered. He seemed larger and imposing considering my size.

"Yes, kit. It is my den. It seems you like it as much as I do," he purred. "Don't worry, I'm not mad," he meowed as he noticed the look on my face.

"You're not?" The black tom nodded.

"Every kit stumbles into the leader's den at some point, Frostkit. I did it myself when I was your age."

"Wait, leader's den? You're the leader?" My blue eyes grew wider. I was talking to _the leader of RiverClan!_

He nodded again. "I'm Duskstar, and I already know who you are. It is a leader's duty to know every cat in the Clan, and make sure they are strong and healthy. No matter how small, I, and all leaders before and after me, have to make sure the Clan is at its finest."

I was enraptured at the prospect of being leader. Being at the head of a battle with fierce enemies, tasting victory in all of its sweetness, finally feeling the cool waters of the rushing river beneath my paws. It seemed like the position was calling for me, the same strange tug I felt coming from below the river when I was no larger than Cloudfeather's paw. The simple idea of my future stood before me like a spiderweb. Little bits and pieces of possibilities spread out or entwined, criss-crossing here and there, ending at the edge or going on forever.

The quiet rustle of brambles snapped me out of my trance. A thin golden she-cat with very tall ears and white paws padded slowly towards Duskstar. She sat so her back half was on the outside, and her front paws and head peeked sheepishly through the entrance.

"Applepelt, what is it?" mewed Duskstar. He stood up and widened his eyes at the warrior.

"Well, um," she stammered. She gritted her teeth for a few seconds, then said very quickly, "It's Silverpaw. And Bassfang, too. They've both been attacked by another ShadowClan patrol."

Duskstar looked down at me with thoughtful eyes which seemed to be making decisions on every aspect of my being here. "Go along now, Frostkit," he finally meowed gruffly. "It's time you got back to your mother."

I wasn't happy that I had to leave, but every cat knows to obey the leader. I hung my head low and walked with tiny pawsteps over the moss and onto dry dirt ground. But even though every cat knew to obey the leader, I still wanted to hear what they were talking about. So I crept around near the back-being careful that I didn't get swept into the river-and hid behind a bracken clump.

"…Need to be more careful. ShadowClan are being even stranger than usual. They mark their borders at least four times a day and attack if a cat is within two rabbitlengths of the scent marker."

Duskstar's voice came out rough and muffled, but was still audible. There was a quiet wail from a shaken Applepelt, and a comforting purr from Duskstar.

"They're both Mudstripe's den getting their wounds attended to right now. Bassfang is worse off from protecting Silverpaw, but the cuts are not deep. Silverpaw is mostly in shock, but has a nasty cut down her flank. There isn't much bleeding, but there is stinging, which might be from infection," mewed Applepelt hurriedly.

"Calm down, Applepelt. I'm sure they'll both be alright."

Applepelt mewed a goodbye and swiftly exited the den, her small frame supporting her speed. I ran back to the nursery after the conversation was over, with a strong aren't-you-proud-of-me feeling. I finally did as Duskstar had told me at that point. After all, he had told me to go back to my mother. He had never told me when.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I was just a few tail-lengths outside of the nursery when I was tackled into the dry ground. Two pairs of tiny jaws grabbed my scruff and dragged me behind the bramble den. I squealed quietly, the breath was knocked out of me from being tackled. A paw was clamped over my muzzle before the dust cleared from my eyes, and I saw who my attackers were.  
Coalkit and Moonkit peered over me with wide and excited eyes. Coalkit had me pinned down under his large paws, and Moonkit watched from beside me, her amber eyes filled with concern.

"Are you sure she's not hurt?" Moonkit mewled.

"Positive. You should see what I can do when I'm actually trying," Coalkit boasted.

"You know I'm still here, right?" I huffed. "Why'd you tackle me?"

"We're going exploring!" mewled Moonkit.

I shook the dirt out of my pelt. "But we just toured the camp, I'm tired now."

"Geez Frostkit, you sure can be mousebrained. We're not staying in the camp, we're going outside to see what else there is." Coalkit rolled his eyes and gave me a 'no duh' look.

"But we aren't allowed near the river, and we have to cross the river to get out of camp."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that." Moonkit looked down at her paws. "Had you, Coalkit?"

Coalkit ignored Moonkit. "No matter, we'll find a way across."

Coalkit motioned with his tail for us to follow. We shared reluctant looks at first, but eventually we trotted on behind him in a line like ducklings behind their mother. Very quiet, furry, trying-not-to-be-seen ducklings.

Coalkit disappeared behind some rushes and grass as we neared the edge of camp. I squealed a little, afraid that he had been swept into the river. But then again, he probably would have yowled for help if he had been carried by the current. There was a clicking of tiny claws on the other side, then my brother's black head peered through the foliage.

"C'mon, there's stepping stones on the other side. We can get across!" Coalkit purred.

We padded through onto the marshy bank, mud squelching through our toes. The rushing river was a few tail-lengths away from my paws, making the hungrily lapping waves sound like miniature thunderclaps. Sure enough, the stepping stones dotted a slippery path of rock across the water.

I was the first to cross. I wouldn't have if I had a choice, but Coalkit kept calling me a coward, and Moonkit was too scared to cross. She needed someone to prove it was safe. I needed to prove to myself it was safe.

The first stone was flat, an easy one to cross. The next one… not so much. It was rounded and slippery with foam and river spray, not to mention I had to jump to reach it. I bunched up my haunches and leaped towards the rock. I landed splayed out on my stomach, paws scrabbling for a firm hold. Luckily there were only a few stones left.

The last few were easy jumps and soon I was on the opposite bank. Moonkit went next with Coalkit close behind if she fell. Moonkit's size helped on the smaller stones, while Coalkit's long legs allowed him to step from stone to stone instead of jumping. After a few slips and paw splashes, we were all safely across. Wet –that was for sure- but safe and unscathed.

Coalkit shook the water droplets out of his fur. "Well now that we're out, where do you want to go?" he mewed.

I was unsure I wanted to do this anymore, until I remembered what Burnscar had been talking about.

"How about the lake?" I mewled. If I caught that fish, maybe Duskstar would make me an apprentice a moon early! And Cloudfeather would be so proud of me for catching something so large without any training. Of course this was impossible for a kit, but all I was thinking about was making my mother proud. Little did I know trying to get that fish would get me into a load of trouble.

"I've always wanted to see the lake," Moonkit purred. "I want to go, too. How about you, Coalkit?"

"Sounds good to me, let's go!"

"So," I mewed. "Do any of you know how to get there?"

My littermates shook their heads.

"What if we follow the sound of the waves?" suggested Moonkit.

Coalkit and I purred in agreement and perked our ears. The sound of the river was still loud and drowned out most of the noise, but there was something fainter. The slight slosh of lapping waves off in the distance signaled the presence of the lake.

"I found it!" I squealed and bounded off towards the sound of the waves. Two other padding sets of paws followed close behind me on the way to the shore. As we bounded through wet grass and the occasional shrub, the sound of the pounding surf grew louder and louder. Then right when I thought we were there, the wave noise was revealed to be another part of the river, not the lake.

"Well, what now, mousebrain?" sneered Coalkit.

I growled. "I don't know, I thought this was it!"

"Oh, are we lost, Frostkit?" mewled Moonkit.

"Of course not," I huffed. I knew we were lost, though. I just didn't want to admit it. It would mean letting my littermates down. "I just got a little off track."

I perked my ears to listen for the lake, but the noise of the swaying rushes and swiftly flowing river clouded my hearing. I tried tasting the air, angling my ears in different directions, and trying to feel the waves' vibrations through the earth, but the lake was avoiding my un-adapted senses.

"There, it's this way," I exclaimed suddenly, surprising Moonkit. I set off in a random direction, not wanting to kill my pride by admitting I didn't know the way.

Sunhigh was starting to roll in as we traveled on. It wasn't newleaf anymore, as it was when we were born, but the days had grown hotter and greenleaf was here. In other words, we were all about ready to jump in the river due to the heat. At least there was some wind, but it was slowly fading as the sun's rays took over. Coalkit was complaining, Moonkit was wearing down, and I was ready to collapse.

"Are we there now?" whined Coalkit for the thousandth time.

"No, and if you don't shut up I'll throw you in the lake when we get there!" I growled.

"Are you sure you even know where you're going?"

"I'm sure. Now be quiet so I can concentrate!"

We continued on, dragging our paws and breathing heavily as the sun beat down on our fur covered backs. The thick coat Moonkit and I shared added on heat to our small bodies, but Coalkit's sleek, short coat kept him cool. He might have seemed lucky then, but wait until leafbare rolled by. Brrr!

"Um, Frostkit? Could we take a break? I'm getting tired," mewed Moonkit.

"Absolutely." I lied down on the grassy ground, exhaling in exasperation. "It's time for a rest anyway."

"Whose dumb idea was it to go out in the first place?" growled Coalkit.

"I remember pretty clearly being tackled to the ground because you wanted to explore!" I hissed.

"Well you were the one that got us lost!"

"It was still your idea!"

"Stop it!" shrieked Moonkit, prompting surprised looks from Coalkit and me. "Just stop fighting! Frostkit, all of us, including you, know that we're lost. Coalkit, we weren't supposed to leave the camp in the first place, and we're going to be in a lot of trouble when we get back. Both of you were wrong, so just be quiet. Okay?"

I swallowed hard and nodded. I'd never seen Moonkit as more than a shy, quiet little kit, but now seeing her speak her mind… I now knew what she was like. All she wanted was peace, and not arguing or play fighting was her way of showing it. She already had her own inner peace, now her mission was to spread it to others. She'd make a good medicine cat when we were older.

Now that the arguing had ended, the only sound was the grass swaying in the slight breeze and the distant burble of the river. I flipped over onto my side to let the wind cool me off, and was ready to fall asleep when the tranquility was broken.

"D' you think that they'll delay our apprentice ceremony for this? You know, for sneaking out of camp. Because we're so close, only three moons away," mewed Coalkit.

"Maybe," I meowed. It was possible, seeing as the Clan was probably searching all over for us. It proved we weren't responsible, but we were just kits. On the other paw, our Cloudfeather had told us not to go near the river, and we had walked right over it. Disobeying Cloudfeather, leaving camp, worrying the Clan, we were in for a pile of trouble when we got back.

If we could find our way back.

**AN: Well, this chapter was a challenge to make. It wasn't the all-dreaded writers block that made it hard, but the fact that the computer isn't saving documents for some reason. So I had to use copy and paste, then edit it into paragraphs. The saving issue will be fixed soon, and then I can get working on chapter 4! Big thanks to all of my readers! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Well, what do we do know?" Coalkit meowed.

I had gotten up and was trying to pinpoint the location of the lake again. If we found the lake we might have had a chance to be found and brought back to camp by a patrol. Coalkit was back to complaining and Moonkit had fallen asleep.

"I'm trying to get us home, now shush."

"Whassat?" Moonkit awoke with a shake of her head.

"Oh good, you're awake. We're heading for the lake again," I explained.

"But isn't that what got us lost in the first place?" grumbled Moonkit.

"Yeah, but if I can help it, it's what's going to get us found. Now come on, we're not going to get anywhere by sitting around."

With many grunts and groans my littermates got up and started to follow me on our little journey to the lake. It was still scorching hot out and our limbs were sluggish as we padded along. Good thing the small breeze had picked up, providing fresh air to cool us off. The only downside was that annoying slapping noise coming from farther on.

Wait, slapping noise? Either the beavers had come downstream and onto RiverClan territory, or the wind had caused waves to crash up harder on the shore. It was obvious it couldn't be the river, we were just napping beside it and the flow had been too fast for waves. This could only mean one thing: we were right on track.

I broke into a run without warning the others, my ears angled towards the sound. I could faintly hear the thudding pawsteps of Moonkit and Coalkit as they tried to catch up, but I was so focused on my target that nothing else mattered. The sound grew louder and louder, pounding in my ears like thunderclaps.

And boy was I lucky to have littermates, because I would have died if they hadn't caught me. I was so focused on the lake, I almost _fell into_ the lake. Before I took a dive off of the halfbridge, Coalkit managed to grab my scruff and Moonkit latched her teeth onto my back leg. They hoisted me up onto the smooth tree parts of the halfbridge and collapsed, panting.

"Thanks," I gasped.

"No thanks would be needed if you hadn't decided to go for an early swim!" huffed Coalkit.

"Yeah, what were you thinking?" Moonkit's words held concern, and she checked my pelt for scratches.

"The thing is, I wasn't thinking," I mewed.

"Well at least we're here," Coalkit grumbled.

I walked away from the halfbridge and down towards the shore of the lake, letting the spray cool my body under my thick fur. The icy droplets felt marvelous under the greenleaf heat, and soon we were all splashing in the shallows.

Wet sand tickled between my toes and soothed my aching paw pads. We pawed at minnows that darted in and out of the sand. Of course we didn't have much luck with all of our splashing paws and giggling mews. For a few moments we had forgotten about getting home, or being lost, we were just cooled off and having fun. Of course it couldn't last, and I remembered our mission.

"Now we just have to stay put until a patrol comes along," I mewed, panting.

"Aw, but can we still play?" Moonkit's eyes were bright with playfulness.

"As long as we stay in one place I guess." I mean, who can keep kits from playing?

Coalkit sent a pawful of water at my face, starting the war. I reared up on my hind legs and slammed down on the water, creating a wave of sapphire droplets towards my brother. It pushed them over, making them tumble head over paws towards the sandy beach. We splashed at eachother like maniacs, drenching our fur and getting sand and algae tangled in our pelts. Coalkit and I ganged up on Moonkit, creating torrents of lake water and sand splashing on her gray and black fur.

That was when the real trouble began.

Moonkit scrambled up the shore and along the bank, up the incline and onto the halfbridge. Water dripped from her long fur onto the tree planks, creating a fresco of dark droplets. We chased up after her, scooping water as we ran until the halfbridge got higher and the water was out of reach of our paws.

We were now out of ammunition, and Moonkit was standing on the edge of the halfbridge with a triumphant look on her face. I thought Moonkit had won for sure when Coalkit gave me a mischievous look.

As he stalked over to Moonkit, her smug expression disappeared. She had nowhere to run now, and Coalkit was quickly gaining. He stopped only once to motion me over, and I realized what he was going to do, and what he wanted me to do with him. I bounded up beside him and stalked alongside, slowly getting closer.

Moonkit's face showed panic as we came to where we were only a few rabbitlengths away from her. Each pawstep we took thudded on the flat tree pieces, every stray stone we kicked through the crevices gave an audible splash in the rippling water below. Those were the only sounds besides the short, panicked breaths of Moonkit, the waves licking the shore, and the triumphant purr of Coalkit as we padded forwards.

"Wait, no! It's too dee- ACK!" Despite Moonkit's protests, my brother and I reared up on our hind legs and pushed her into the lake. There was a loud splash as she hit the water, and droplets splattered the halfbridge.

"She's not coming up," I mewled uncertainly. A few moments passed with Coalkit and I standing rigid with fear, then suddenly Moonkit's gray head popped through the surface of the water.

"Help!" she shrieked, flailing to stay afloat. The waves dragged her under the surface then pushed her up, gasping for air. The vicious cycle of our sister struggling for life played over and over again down below. The worse part of being there was knowing we were helpless to stop her struggle.

"Coalkit, I have a plan," I exclaimed suddenly. "Get down on the edge of the halfbridge, I'll lower you. Try to grab Moonkit!"

Coalkit nodded and followed my instructions, lying on his belly with his forepaws hanging over the water. I gripped one of his hind legs between my teeth and dug my claws into the tree parts. Coalkit was much heavier than I was, and it was hard to lower him without dropping him in the water as well.

"I can almost get her. Grab on, Moonkit!" yowled Coalkit.

Moonkit squealed something I couldn't hear and tried to grab at Coalkit's big white paws. He was a smidge too far from her lithe form, causing more splashing and gasping as she went under again. It was a fight to live for all three of us, seeing as I couldn't hold on much longer.

"Ahm shipping!" I yowled through a mouthful of black fur. My tiny kit claws scraped on the halfbridge, lowering Coalkit to where he needed to be but also putting us all in more danger. I dug into the planks with all my strength, but Coalkit's weight was too much for me, and we tumbled down into the dark abyss.

The cold hit me like a claw slash on the cheek, raw and unexpected. I kicked my paws in the never-ending darkness, trying to find my way to air. A faint sparkle of light appeared in the bubbling water, signalling the way to the surface. I stretched my paws out to the surface, kicking with my back legs to boost myself up. My head broke the surface, fresh air filling my lungs.

I wasn't too far from the edge of the halfbridge, but the distance seemed like a journey rather than the few pawlengths it was in reality. My limbs ached from the cold, added to my exhaustion from fighting to stay breathing. I kicked out my legs and paddled with my forepaws in a sad attempt at swimming, but after flailing around like a fish on the shore for a bit, I got close enough to grasp a leg of the halfbridge.

Coalkit had seen what I had done and started the messy paddle over to the bridge leg. Moonkit's head popped up from under the waves as well, and Coalkit grabbed her scruff to help as she made her way over to me.

It was tough clinging to the leg, with the waves tugging at our fur and our claws threatening to slip at any moment. My muscles screamed for rest, but I couldn't let go no matter how much it hurt. All we could do was hope someone would come and rescue us.

And just our luck. The sound of pawsteps on the grass signaled the arrival of a patrol. But something was wrong; these cats didn't carry the scent of reeds and fish like the others, but smelled marshy with hints of pine. This was the smell that had been on my father's claws last moon, after they'd had a battle with ?ShadowClan! These were ShadowClan cats!

Well, I wasn't about to be picky about who saved me, just as long as I was saved. I splashed with my hind legs and mewled, trying to catch the attention of the patrol. A first a few angled their ears towards me and sniffed the air a bit, not really paying much attention. But then one, a slender white she-cat with milky blue eyes looked our way. She mewed something to the others that I couldn't hear and the rest of the patrol walked to the halfbridge.

A reddish tortoiseshell dipped her head down to us, sniffing me and tickling my head with her whiskers. "Yep, they're RiverClan kits," she meowed to the others.

"Get away from them, Hollycloud," meowed a brown tabby tom. "These kits aren't our problem."

"Oh come on, Stripedfoot. They're drenched and shivering, plus it's getting late," cooed Hollycloud.

"I agree. No kit should be left in harm's way, it's the warrior code!" complained the white she-cat from before.

"You always agree with your sister, Snowstream. These kits aren't drowning, aren't injured, aren't on our territory, and aren't ShadowClan's problem," growled Stripedfoot.

"I'm sure they aren't going to ambush us if we help them, they're barely three moons old!" squeaked a ginger and black tom.

"Don't you know how to respect warriors, Foxpaw? Or perhaps your mentor skipped that lesson?" he grumbled with a glare at Hollycloud.

I was wondering if we were ever going to get out of the freezing lake when pawsteps sounded across the grass and onto the halfbridge.

"What is going on here?" came a mew I recognised as Sparkflight, the deputy. RiverClan cats! Finally!

The white muzzle of Shimmertail lifted us carefully out of the lake, licking out fur to warm us up. The sun did the rest of the work, drying our sopping wet coats. I purred to show my gratitude, and Shimmertail gave us a little smile.

"We were doing a patrol and saw these disobedient kits hanging here," reported Stripedfoot.

"You do realise this is against the warrior code, don't you? It clearly states 'no warrior may neglect a kit in pain or in danger, even if that kit is from a different Clan'," growled Sparkflight.

"These kits weren't in danger, don't you RiverClan cats know how to swim?"

"Not at three moons! They could have fallen and drowned! Besides, they were obviously in pain from hanging there so long, plus freezing and wet. I'll have to tell Flamestar about this, Stripedfoot. Disobeying the warrior code!"

Stripedfoot grumbled something inaudible that was no doubt offensive. "Of course, Sparkflight," he mewed through gritted teeth. "I promise it will never happen again."

The ginger tom nodded. "As for you two," he mewed, turning to us. "I'll have to tell your mother about this of course. You went against her orders, and I'll leave it to her to come up with a fitting punishment."

He flicked his tail at Shimmertail and Nettleclaw, who bent down to pick us up and carry us back to camp. I mewled in protest, humiliated at having to be carried even though I could walk well enough on my own. Shimmertail ignored my protests, continuing to carry me by the scruff back home. I caught a few glimpses of Sparkflight trotting alongside the ShadowClan patrol on the way to tell Flamestar about the offense.

Cloudfeather would have our tails when we got back. I could only imagine how mad she would be! I shared similar looks with my littermates, embarrassment and fear written clearly on our faces. Oh well, we did deserve it. All we could do was sit and take our punishment, and it surely wouldn't be fun.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The moment we got back to camp, Cloudfeather rushed out from the nursery and grabbed our scruffs. She didn't say a word, but I could feel a strange mix of anger and relief coming off of her in waves. She set us down in the nest by her belly, nuzzling us and licking our heads.

"My kits, oh my precious kits," she gasped at last. "I'm so glad you're okay. Do you have any idea how worried I was? Sneaking out of camp, going across the river even though I told you not to go near it, almost drowning in the lake, you could have died!" Her tone quickly switched from happiness to anger, then back, a conflict of emotions.

Moonkit whimpered, overwhelmed at being told off. Coalkit held his head low, and I braced myself for the punishment.

"Because of this, you aren't allowed to leave the nursery for a moon. The only time you'll be allowed in camp is when you are getting prey for Smokewing and the elders. I'll be escorting you to the fresh kill pile to make sure you don't sneak out again," Cloudfeather declared.

"But mom!" squealed Coalkit.

"It was your idea to sneak out of camp, now let's go get that prey," I grumbled, unhappy with the punishment.

"Stop blaming it on me! Besides, you were the one that chose to come with me," hissed Coalkit.

Moonkit just walked quietly in front, her eyes set on the fresh kill pile. She seemed more… distant lately. She didn't stick around us as much, preferring to sit by herself or sleep on the other side of the nest.

"It's because she's mad, isn't it?" Coalkit vocalized my thoughts. "Mad at us for pushing her, right?"

I nodded. "If we hadn't pushed her in, we wouldn't have been in this mess."

"If I hadn't decided to leave the camp we wouldn't have been in this mess," Coalkit grumbled.

A look of surprise crossed my face. Coalkit, admitting he caused this? Setting aside his pride and settling his puffed out chest to admit his fault was not a natural thing for him. This was not the sleek black-furred brother I knew.

"What did you just say?" I meowed to check if he was going crazy.

"Yeah, I admit it. Don't make such a big deal out of it. Can we go get that prey now?"

I mrrowed with triumph at my brother's embarrassment. Sure it was mean, but I was his sister, and we tease eachother, it's a natural thing. Besides, it was refreshing to hear some humility from him.

I grabbed a plump water vole from the top of the pile, its fur still warm. It must have been recently caught, along with a few fish and a thrush that must have been gathering worms on the riverbank. Good thing that it was greenleaf and the prey was fat and out in the sun, or we would have gotten a scolding from the elders for bringing scrawny prey.

Moonkit and I bounced over to the bramble thicket with prey in out jaws, Cloudfeather watching us like a hawk. Her face was expressionless as her gaze flew back and forth from Moonkit and I and Coalkit, who was padding off towards the nursery with a few minnows in his jaws. She barely looked away from us for a second, always keeping her pale blue eyes focused and alert.

"Oh hello there, kits. Have you brought prey for Eagleclaw and me? How thoughtful of you two, taking care of your elders. I'm afraid Eagleclaw is asleep, though," meowed Bluewhisker, a kind old she-cat.

"Mmhm!" I grumbled through a mouthful of vole fur.

"Thank you, dears. You can just set the vole out by Eagleclaw's nest over there, Frostkit. Moonkit, I'll take that trout, thank you."

Moonkit set the silvery fish by Bluewhisker's paws, and the blue-gray she cat started to take delicate mouthfuls of the prey.

"Gave us quite a scare yesterday," she mewed between chomps of fish. "You kits stay in camp until you're apprentices, you understand?"

We nodded and went back to Cloudfeather, where Coalkit was already waiting. Cloudfeather was ushering us back to the nursery when Duskstar leapt up on the Earthmound.

"Let all cats old enough to swim gather to hear my words!" he yowled from the top of the pile. Cats filed out from their dens, some coming in from patrols or leaving prey they had been sharing with a friend. Once every cat-minus the ones out hunting or patrolling the boarders-was gathered around the pile of rocks and earth, Duskstar nodded slightly and began to speak.

"It has been five moons since Flowerpaw and Fadedpaw started their training, and have now passed their final assessments. Flowerpaw, step forward."

The small brown and white practically leaped out of the crowd and was visibly shaking with excitement when she sat in front of Duskstar.

"Applepelt, as Flowerpaw's mentor, do you trust that she has learned the skills and ways of a warrior?"

"I do."

"Then from now on, Flowerpaw, you shall be known as Flowershine. StarClan honors your spirit and joyfulness, and we all wish you moons of good life along the river." Duskstar bent down to touch noses with the new warrior, who trotted back to her spot and was welcomed with a lick from her brother.

"Fadedpaw, step forward. Rainpool, as Fadedpaw's mentor, do you trust that she has learned the skills and ways of a warrior?"

"I do."

"Then from now on Fadedpaw, you shall be known as Fadedpatch. StarClan honors your loyalty and supportive nature, and we all wish you many moons of good life along the river." Duskstar touched noses with Fadedpatch and he rushed over to his sister, where they shared congratulatory purrs.

"Flowershine! Fadedpatch! Flowershine! Fadedpatch!" the crowd yowled.

The whole time I watched in awe, imagining how amazing my own warrior ceremony would be. Getting a name that honored my skills, being praised by my mentor, family, and Clanmates. I couldn't wait!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Mudstripe! Come quickly!" called Breezeflight, bursting into the camp. The rest of the border patrol followed him less quickly, all with cuts, scrapes, nicks, or some sort of injury. Shimmertail was limping, Nettleclaw had a gash down his flank, and Softfeather's long gray fur was missing patches and was dotted with blood.

We had rushed out of the nursery when we heard the patrol coming in, eager to see Nightheart back. He had promised he would bring us a moss ball when he was out, and we needed something to occupy us before we drove Cloudfeather crazy. Of course, we hadn't expected this.

Mudstripe came out from behind the thorn bush where his den was with a wad of herbs in his mouth, looking over the cats as he decided which to treat first.

"What happened?" mewled Coalkit when Nightheart came over to the nursery.

"We were patrolling the WindClan border at the same time they had sent a patrol out, and they claimed we were setting our markers into their territory. Softfeather tried to reason with them, but they attacked and we had to flee because of all the injuries," Nightheart explained.

"Well then go get yourself treated!" meowed Cloudfeather. "You're no use to this Clan injured."

"I only have a nick in my ear and a few shoulder scratches, I can be treated later."

"Can we help heal?" squealed Coalkit.

"Well I suppose since you _are _five moons now. Just don't bother Mudstripe too much."

"I'd rather stay behind," Moonkit quietly mewed. We didn't bother coaxing her out, we knew the blood and injuries would be too much for her. In the past two moons we'd learned a lot about eachother, actually.

We ran over to the medicine cat's den, where Mudstripe was applying cobwebs and some mashed up leaf to Nettleclaw's large gash.

"Hello Coalkit, Frostkit. Do you need help with something? I do hope it can wait, I've got my paws full thanks to that skirmish," he meowed through a mouthful of leaves.

"Actually, we want to help you heal the injured cats!" squeaked Coalkit.

"Well I suppose I could use some extra hands, you two can fetch supplies for me while I tend to the injuries. It'll get the job done much faster. How about that?"

We gave mrrows of agreement and Mudstripe showed us the herb store, pointing out ones we'd need to know.

"This one is marigold, to prevent infection. And these are poppy seeds, which we might need, but probably not today. This is yarrow, which we might use as a pain reliever…"

After we'd learned what we needed, we went out into camp, following Mudstripe and running back and forth, getting herbs and handing them over to be applied. Most commonly we needed cobwebs for bleeding and marigold so it didn't get infected. Although I admit I was usually the one carrying them, Coalkit was the one who could actually remember the herbs. I couldn't tell yarrow from a leaf that had fallen on the ground by the herbs. He could pick up the exact herb before I even finished telling him.

After everyone had had their wounds tended to, we flopped down by the river to cool off in the shade of the reeds. I was panting from running back and forth to get herbs and dropped them off, while Coalkit had stayed cool in the shelter of the medicine cat's den.

"You see, Duskstar? They're out to get us! All of us! Injuring our apprentices, attacking our patrols, WindClan is nothing but a bunch of cold-hearted traitors!" Applepelt's panicked yowls rang out from the leader's den, her voice filled with even more worry than usual. "RiverClan is down at least seven warriors! We're _doomed_ I tell you! DOOOOOMED!"

"Applepelt, calm down." Duskstar's voice could only barely be heard outside. "Why don't you go for a little walk, maybe take a short swim. How about that?"

Applepelt walked out of the den, her face still full of worry but less tense as she walked through the reed barrier.

Coalkit hadn't been watching the ordeal like I was, he was simply sitting with a look of thought on his face.

"I've been thinking," meowed Coalkit.

"I noticed," I meowed with a purr.

Coalkit narrowed his eyes playfully. "Like I said, I've been thinking about today. Helping Mudstripe was something I could do well. I could remember the herbs, their smell and their feel. Just spending that amount of time in the den was amazing. Frostkit, I think I want to be a medicine cat."

I was experiencing mixed feelings when he told me this. One part of me couldn't believe my brother who wished nothing more than to charge into battle now wanted to be a medicine cat, one who healed instead of fighting. But the other part of me knew his memory and knack for detail and concentration would be perfect for the position.

"Well, um, that's great!" was all I could manage to stutter. "But are you sure you want to do this? We always dreamed of fighting side-by-side, you, Moonkit and me. Training together, hunting together, doing everything as siblings."

"But now I've found something I love, Frostkit. I know this is what I want to do. Healing is a battle all its own, a battle to keep the cats of RiverClan alive! I'll still see you and Moonkit all the time in camp." His words were true and convincing that he was going to commit to his job.

"But we won't train together. We won't get our warrior names together. And one of us will always be busy with something," I argued. All I wanted was for us to be together, but now…

"Frostkit, stop looking at all of the negative things! We can share prey together, talk about our experiences together. Heck, I'll even ask Mudstripe if I can sleep with you in the apprentices' den instead of in the medicine cat's den! Just support me on this. I want to be a medicine cat. I _can_ be a medicine cat."

"But Coalkit-"

"No, Frostkit! I'm going to be a medicine cat, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind. I'm going to ask Mudstripe now."

I sighed, a rough sigh of frustration. "Fine, but I'm coming with you."

We walked over to the den, not saying a word for fear of creating more argument. The wet ground was muddier than usual, but the air was growing crisp and cool. Leaf-fall was coming soon, the signs were all around. It started to seem strange that we would be apprentices in just a moon.

We ducked under the overhanging thorn bush and into the den, where Mudstripe was taking inventory of the herbs that were left over from after the battle.

"Frostkit, Coalkit, welcome back. What do you need now?" mewed Mudstripe through a mouthful of herbs.

"Actually Mudstripe, I wanted to ask you something," Coalkit stated.

"Well go ahead, what is it?"

"Mudstripe, have you thought about having an apprentice?"

"Yes, actually I have. Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if you would take me as your apprentice."

"You're apprenticeship isn't for a moon, are you sure you want to be a medicine cat? It's very hard and you'll need a lot of training."

"I'm sure, Mudstripe. So will you ask Duskstar to apprentice me to you?"

"You are a fast learner, and smart too…" Mudstripe pondered his words for a bit. "Yes Coalkit, I'd be glad to take you on as my apprentice."

Coalkit squealed and ran off to tell Cloudfeather the news, a look of utter joy on his face. I smiled just the slightest and followed after him, sad at not being able to train with my brother, but happy that he would get to become a medicine cat.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The first crack of thunder struck at moonhigh, accompanied by the shrieks of Smokewing in the nest beside us. After the thunder came the lighting and piercing cold drops of rain. They pelted the bramble roof of the nursery, leaking through the cracks and dripping on my back.

A few moments after that thunder boomed and Smokewing's cry rang out, Mudstripe ran into the nursery with a bundle of herbs and a stick in his mouth. "Here, Smokewing, bite on this."

The dark gray she cat clamped her jaws around the stick and gave another moan of pain, lashing her black tail back and forth.

"What's going on?" I mewled amidst the chaos.

"Smokewing is kitting, Frostkit," said Cloudfeather rather calmly. She ushered us towards her with her long, feathery tail so we couldn't see what was going on. But I was the classic curious kit and couldn't resist peering over her tail to see the new kits born.

Another ear shattering boom rang out overhead and the rain came down harder, leaving dents in the mud below. I could see it just barely through the entrance to the nursery, with warriors still keeping guard despite the storm or stacking rocks against the riverbank to prevent a flood.

Inside the den, another kind of activity was going on. Mudstripe was pushing against Smokewing's stomach while the queen bit down on the stick so it splintered slightly. She was breathing heavily and groaning, her stomach moving up and down with every breath.

"Here comes the first one," warned Mudstripe. "Alright now, push!"

Smokewing yowled as the first kit came out, a wet and bloody bundle of gray tabby fur. Mudstripe licked the kit so its fur stuck up, but the kit didn't move, it's sides not moving up and down to breathe.

"A tom," Mudstripe said breathily. "Dead."

Smokewing yowled with grief, but ceased to bite down on the stick as the second kit came. Again Mudstripe licked the kit, a cream colored she-kit, and her breath began to come, soft and small.

"A she-kit, living." Mudstripe nodded at the queen. "But there's still one more, push!"

The gray queen groaned and bit down on the stick so hard it finally broke, delivering the third and last kit. A large, dappled gray one. After licking this one herself, she sighed, glad to be done with the birth. "It's a tom, and a big one," she meowed, gathering her two kits in to suckle.

"What are you going to name them?" mewed Mudstripe.

"The gray tabby is Stonekit, may he find his way to StarClan safely," she meowed, her voice cracking. "The cream one is Sweetkit, so calm and quiet. And her boisterous brother is Splashkit."

"Fine names," purred Cloudfeather.

"Standard birth herbs, Smokewing. Borage to keep the milk coming, and if you need poppy seeds for cramps then just call me over," recited Mudstripe.

"I know, Mudstripe. I wasn't a queen yesterday," she meowed, lapping up the leaves.

We wouldn't see them in the nursery for long, they were just born and we were almost apprentices. But we would get a few moons of training together. I could imagine us all as apprentices already. Frostpaw, Coalpaw, and Moonpaw, the best apprentices RiverClan's ever seen.

I was snapped out of my fantasy by the rumble of thunder and a burst of lightning almost immediately after. The rain thundered like a thousand pawsteps on stone. It came so hard, and the lightning was so close, the warriors on guard had to retreat into their dens. The clouds above turned the sky a burnt gray, almost black, ominous even though there was no danger.

A sound of splashing not belonging to the rain caught my attention. On the far side of the camp, water sloshed over the stone barrier the warriors had built to try to keep out the river water. They hadn't had much time to build it, and now the water was sloshing over the stones. A few brave warriors rushed out into the major storm, ignoring the lightning and taking stones to build up the barrier. Among them were Rainpool, Shimmertail, Nettleclaw, and Breezeflight, ears back and ready to face the storm.

"What's happening?" mewed Moonkit.

"The river is flooding!" I shouted over the thudding rain.

"Oh, are we safe? Will we drown? I can't swim!"

"Shush, Moonkit. We'll be fine, the warriors will protect us."

All through the storm, the new kits just sat suckling, occasionally mewling or pushing on Smokewing's stomach for more milk. They didn't know what was going on around them, they couldn't see or hear just yet. Only smell and drink, without any cares.

The rain certainly wasn't letting up, but the lightning and thunder had stopped for now. But while it had lasted, the kits had certainly made an entrance, coming with the storm.

**AN: Yeah, short chapter this time, it was sort of a filler. The apprenticeship is coming up soon! Yay!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Tonight was the night of the gathering, but the rain obviously didn't care, because it just kept going even harder. Not to mention the thunder had started again, louder and with shorter intervals between the flashes of lightning.

Sweetkit and Splashkit stirred in their nest, disturbed from their sleep by the loud crashes overhead. They wailed loudly as a louder clap of thunder sounded, followed by a flash in the sky a few moments later. Smokewing licked her kits' heads to calm them down, lulling them back into sleep.

I could just barely see the late after-sunhigh sun peeking through the dark gray clouds, a sort of sign that the storm wouldn't last much longer. I was the only one watching, though. Cloudfeather was sleeping with Coalkit and Moonkit, and all of the warriors and apprentices who didn't have any injuries or whose injuries had mostly healed were busy trying to hunt or fixing dens. I sighed, flicking my tail to the steady beat of the rainfall.

A rumble of thunder seemed to shake the sky overhead with its sound, followed almost immediately by a flash of bright lightning. Through the reeds I could see a billow of smoke rising up, along with a few tongues of red flame rising.

Flowershine and Bassfang raced into the camp, yowling with panic. "Fire!" shouted Bassfang, causing a few warriors to race away from their work. "And Amberpaw's trapped!"

I could've snuck out right then, through a little hole in the back of the nursery. Cloudfeather was sleeping and wouldn't see if I left, and Coalkit and Moonkit couldn't tell on me. It would be exciting, seeing a fire rescue! And I wanted to see if Amberpaw was okay, she sometimes taught us battle moves when she wasn't busy. But then I remember what happened last time I left camp, and I didn't want to lose my mother's trust again. I growled. I was almost an apprentice, and if I was stuck in this nursery much longer, I was going to lose it.

Rainpool, Nightheart, and Fadedpatch grabbed moss from some rocks on the edge of the river and dipped them in the current, soaking the bundles. To try to put out the fire, I guessed. The crowd of cats, armed with patches of dripping moss, ran through the reeds and waded through the river to where I could see the orange flames licking into the air.

I could hear the sizzle of the moss being thrown onto the fire, and realized how close the lightning had struck. The nursery could've been hit, and I could've been the one trapped in the fire instead of Amberpaw! It was then I felt incredibly lucky that I wasn't in that fire or I'd have been on my way to StarClan faster than you can say 'mouse.'

The familiar sound of reeds rustling announced the arrival of the patrol, Amberpaw propped between Rainpool and Bassfang's shoulders. From where I was sitting I could see she was burned, the fur and some flesh of her front leg seared off. She was bleeding from that wound and could barely walk, coughing up smoke as they lead her to the medicine cat's den.

"Cloudfeather, can I go see Mudstripe?" I meowed to my half-asleep mother. "The lightning stopped."

"Mmhm," she grumbled, flicking her tail. "Just be back before dark and don't bother the older cats too much."

Rain pelted my back as I made my way to the medicine cat's den, soaking my gray and white pelt until my long fur clung to my frame. A wave of warmth hit me when I entered the den, heat radiating off of the crowd of cats surrounding Amberpaw.

The apprentice's ginger tabby fur was singed around her legs and back, wet moss covering what must've been the worst burns. Cobwebs and moss were draped along the top of her head where her right ear was, or at least, used to be.

"Nightheart, what happened?" I mewled to my father, who was soaking moss to replace the old pieces on Amberpaw's pelt.

He removed a bloody piece off of her ear, quickly replacing it with the new one. Amberpaw let out a little squeal and her eyes shot open, before closing her eyes again with relief. "Amberpaw's ear was burned off, Frostkit. She's burned a bit in a few other places, but nothing severe, she'll live. She'll still be able to continue her training and become a warrior, according to Mudstripe."

I sighed with relief. Amberpaw was well into her training, and I was hoping she would be my mentor. Then again, even if they gave Amberpaw her warrior name early, she'd still only be a knew warrior when I reached apprenticeship. The only cat I didn't want to be mentored by was Applepelt, that she-cat worried too much. Luckily that wasn't passed on to optimistic Flowershine.

I snuggled closer on Nightheart's leg. Although a glance between the branches of the thorn bush revealed that the rain had stopped, it was still cold and a breeze was whistling through the air. Another glance outside showed Duskstar crawling up the Earthmound, ready to make an announcement.

"All cats old enough to swim gather beneath the Earthmound to hear my words!" he yowled.

The cats in the medicine cat's den listened as they worked, while the warriors and apprentices walked out of their dens and into the cool, damp air. A crowd soon gathered around Duskstar, young and old cats alike, waiting to hear the news.

After every cat that was able was gathered around the pile of mud and smooth rocks, Duskstar started to speak. "Tonight is the night of the gathering, the night where we share our news with the other three Clans. Although it is exciting to go and an opportunity to meet up with friends from other Clans, only a few can go. The cats going to the gathering are Sparkflight, Mudstripe, Earthstone, Bassfang, Rainpool, Burnscar, Silverpaw, Nightheart, Eagleclaw, Bluewhisker, and Nighthe-"

"WindClan, attack!"

**A/N: Ooh, a cliffhanger! Why is WindClan causing so much trouble for RiverClan? You'll have to keep reading to find out! Seeing as I'm getting some regular reviewers, let's try to get 4 or 5 more reviews before I post chapter 9! And I know the Earthmound isn't _actually _where RiverClan makes it's announcements, but there was no mention of a place in the books, so I improvised! Thanks everyone who reads and reviews, it really helps to encourage me!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Lithe WindClan cats poured into the camp, fast paws carrying them quickly towards the crowd of cats around the Earthmound. The once calm RiverClan camp was plunged into chaos, claws slashing and yowls ringing all over the island. Bassfang, Fadedpatch, and Flowershine jumped to attention to guard the entrance, making sure Amberpaw wasn't hurt any more than she already was.

"Frostkit, we're going to the nursery, you'll be safe there. Cloudfeather and Smokewing will protect you," meowed Nightheart seriously. He picked me up by the scruff and ran into the river, swimming towards the nursery from behind. The water slid smoothly off of his shiny black pelt, quickly handing me to Cloudfeather and darting off into the battle.

"Get back with Moonkit and Coalkit," mewed Cloudfeather breathily. My heart pounded in my chest. Why was WindClan attacking us? What had we done to make them so angry? I crawled back with my littermates and a startled Smokewing.

"Cloudfeather…what's going on? Why are they fighting?" I whimpered.

"It's nothing, Frostkit. Just warrior business." Cloudfeather's words were dismissive and said through gritted teeth. "Just stay quiet and unseen. Smokewing will take care of you, mommy has to fight."

Claws slid from Cloudfeather's very pale gray tabby paws and her back arched, fur bristling like thorns along her spine. Her eyes blazed with blue fire, a fierce side only seen when a queen's kits are threatened.

A fluffy brown and white tom ran around the back of the nursery, but he didn't evade Cloudfeather's sight. "Come out Rabbitstep, you coward," she growled. "I knew you'd be the one to try and take the kits."

Thumping and scratching came from behind the den.

"And don't you dare try to dig through the reeds! Double woven so criminals like you can't get in!"

"Shut up, Cloudfeather. I've been forgiven, alright? Besides, these kits'll just be future trouble that we need to deal with, and StarClan knows how much've that we'll be getting from you fish-faces. I'm takin' 'em on Palestar's orders!" Rabbitstep snarled. "Now just back your soft little queen self away and the kits can grow up in WindClan instead of being killed by my claws, y'hear?"

"I'm done chatting with fox-hearts like you. You will never _EVER _get any kits as long as RiverClan cats swim."

Cloudfeather stood her ground at the entrance, but gave a long yowl, attracting the attention of cats not battling. Burnscar and Shimmertail raced over and around back, where caterwauls rang through the air, followed by a streak of brown and white darting swiftly out of the camp. The three cats gave a triumphant meow before the warriors went back into the fray.

The view between Cloudfeather's legs wasn't the best, but at least I saw some of the action. Silverpaw and her mentor, Softfeather, darted around a white tom, swiping out every time they stopped then quickly changing position. Rainpool was shaking off two apprentices that were latched onto her back near the Earthmound. Applepelt went paw-to-paw with a green eyed she-cat, knocking her into the river where she sputtered and flailed before getting out on the other side and running away with her tail between her legs. Cats fled the camp like mice in a fox den; WindClan was losing.

The occasional "brave" apprentice came along towards the nursery, but Cloudfeather drove them off with a few hard swipes to the ears. We were still fighting strong, driving the WindClan cats into the river where our fighting was best. Hey, it was their fault for fighting us where we fight best: our own territory.

"Palestar, just give up now!" Duskstar yowled to a white she-cat. "Spare you and your Clan's further humiliation and just run back to your moorland. If not, we'll just fight harder until you do."

"Never! WindClan will take you down before you can destroy us! StarClan gave Tansyleaf the signs, and now you must all die!" Palestar growled.

"Signs?" Duskstar questioned. But the question bewildered him at the wrong moment.

With her WindClan speed she charged towards him, long, thin legs pounding against the muddy ground. She slashed his muzzle, blood welling from the four deep cuts. Duskstar yowled in pain, slashing blindly at the white leader's ears. A few slashes hit, scarlet blood pouring down her white fur, staining it with scarlet streaks.

"This isn't over, Duskstar," Palestar muttered through gritted teeth. "RiverClan _will_ bow down to WindClan or be killed. We will be back! WindClan, retreat!"

The remaining cats darted swiftly away behind their leader, thundering away with their tails between their legs.

"Send a patrol out in a bit, Sparkflight," ordered Duskstar after the triumphant yowls quieted down. "Make sure they left our territory, and mark along the border. We want to send a clear message that they're not welcome back."

The ginger tom nodded and assembled a few cats before disappearing through the reeds.

"The rest of you, gather beneath the Earthmound. There is news that needs to be said to RiverClan only."

Once again sleek-pelted cats crawled from their dens, a few glancing around to make sure this meeting wasn't rudely interrupted.

"For those of you that don't know, WindClan has been increasingly aggressive towards us in the past few moons. They have marked their borders so their scent dominates ours, and have been attacking our patrols if they get too close. One of our apprentices was injured by a WindClan patrol by a warrior much larger than her, something that shouldn't have happened." Duskstar allowed the information to sink in, some cats murmuring their thoughts to others. "And now these cats come into our camp, try to steal our kits," Cloudfeather wrapped her tail around Coalkit, Moonkit, and I, "and attack our cats without any apparent reason. Palestar announced that their medicine cat, Tansyleaf, had signs of some sort that I believe led them to make this attack. What sign from StarClan could put our Clans at war?"

Cats yowled out their answers or mewled with shock. "Tansyleaf is lying! Palestar is lying! StarClan is angry with us!" The cries rang through the evening air, interrupting the chirps of crickets and splashes of swimming minnows.

Duskstar raised his thick black tail. "Quiet, quiet!" he yowled over the chaos. "Now, we will _not _stoop to their level and raid back. But no one attacks RiverClan. Border patrols will be done more often. Each patrol must have one apprentice ready to run back to the camp for reinforcements if a WindClan patrol attacks. Dens will be reinforced and more guards will be stationed around the camp. We will not be defeated!"

Loud cheers erupted from the crowd, meows calling for triumph and glory. Chest fur was puffed out with pride from the crowd, and heads were raised to magnify the noise.

"RiverClan will win!" meowed Cloudfeather with a grin on her face.

"RiverClan!" I shouted, joining into the noise, though my kit mewls couldn't be heard over the others.

"Victory!" yowled Coalkit.

"Glory!" yowled Moonkit less loudly.

Duskstar raised his tail once again for quiet. "Yes, we will have our victory. But we must carry on as usual besides our added tasks. Once again, the cats attending the gathering are Sparkflight, Mudstripe, Earthstone, Bassfang, Rainpool, Burnscar, Silverpaw, Eagleclaw, Bluewhisker, and Nightheart. We will leave once the sun is fuzzy on the horizon."

He flicked his tail to dismiss the crowd and leaped off of the Earthmound. The cats not going to the gathering went back into their dens, ready for bed.

"Alright kits, back into the nursery. You've got a big day tomorrow, turning six moons is a big thing."

"We're becoming apprentices tomorrow?" Moonkit purred?

"My first day as a medicine cat is tomorrow!" Coalkit mused.

"Wow, and in a few moons, I'll be a warrior!" I purred.

"It's special for all of you. That's why you'll need a good sleep." Cloudfeather ushered us into the nest with her long, feathery tail. "Come on, I'll tell you a story."

We all purred with delight and crawled into the nest, snuggling against Cloudfeather's warm belly. She hadn't told us a story since we were only a moon old, and it was nice to hear one from her on our last night in the nursery.

"It was the night of the full moon, a gathering night, as you kits know," she began, words flowing smoothly from her white muzzle. She had always been a great storyteller, great with talking in general. She always made you want to listen. "And my kits were due any time now. Mudstripe already knew that there were going to be three, but he didn't know that they were going to be anything but ordinary."

"She's talking about us!" whispered Coalkit.

Cloudfeather purred. "I certainly am. Tigerpaw, Mudstripe's apprentice at the time, had brought me the usual things a queen needs. It was my first litter and I knew nothing about birth. Smokewing was on her second, though, and helped a great deal. You three were born as the moon was high in the sky, when the gathering would've been starting. All was quiet save for the chirping of crickets and your little mewls. You didn't have a name yet, Moonkit. We named you on the day you opened your eyes after you got that scar. But Frostkit and Coalkit had their names, Nightheart picked them out. But there was something a little different about all of you."

We looked up with astonished expressions. We'd never noticed anything different before.

"Moonkit, besides your scar you have something special. Look down at your paws. See? Six toes."

Moonkit looked down with awe.

"Coalkit, you have six toes as well. Take a look!"

Coalkit stared down at his paws, a small smile on his face.

"And you, Frostkit, were born last, right when the moon hit the den. You were born at a special time, with the light of StarClan on your pelt."

I smiled along with my siblings, staring with wonder up at the moon's full face. The cats had left for the gathering and the sky was clear, leaving clearing full of nothing but silver light and shadows.

"And that, my precious kits, is the night you were born." And with those words she set her head down, nuzzling us close, the moon seeming to whisper my name.

_Frostkit, Frostkit, Frostpaw_, as I drifted into my dreams.

**A/N: Thank you all for the kind reviews! Of all the cats mentioned, who do you think Frostkit and Moonkit's mentors will be? Why do you think WindClan is attacking RiverClan? Tell me in a review! Let's try to get 5 more reviews before I post chapter 10. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Stop squirming, Frostkit. I'll just have to groom you more if you keep stirring up the dust," meowed Cloudfeather. Her wet tongue smoothed the fluffy fur on my head.

"You're taking too long!" I meowed impatiently. "I'm going to miss my ceremony if you take any longer!"

"All the more reason to sit still. Besides, you have plenty of time to be neat for such a special occasion."

I huffed and dipped my head, glaring at my giggling littermates on the other side of the nest. "You keep laughing, you're next," I growled.

"There. Now go get yourself some prey from the pile, no use training today if you're hungry." Cloudfeather gave a satisfied little purr and picked up Coalkit by his scruff, dragging him over to the nest and holding him in place as she rhythmically licked his pelt.

Now it was my turn to laugh.

I trotted across the camp over to the fresh kill pile, where a heap of fish and a few water voles sat. The prey was fresh, you could tell by the smell, and the cool almost-leaf fall air kept it from stinking too much. Of course, when it did, most of us were used to it.

"Frostkit!" The call came from a few mouselengths away.

With a water vole dangling from my jaws I turned around to see Silverpaw and Amberpaw walking over to the pile. Amberpaw's ear was no longer bleeding or covered in soot, but the stump was swathed in webs.

"You'll be coming into the apprentice den today, lucky for you there's three empty nests that only need a bit more moss to make them more comfy," mewed Silverpaw.

"Oh, thanks Silverpaw!" I mumbled through a mouthful of fur.

"No problem," the gray and white she-cat meowed, grabbing a trout from the edge of the pile and handing it to Amberpaw.

"Want to eat with us over by the Earthmound? It's much sunnier there," asked Amberpaw.

"Sure!" I dropped my prey when I spoke, purring with embarrassment before picking it up and following the older she-cats.

We settled down with our prey, tearing into it neatly but hungrily while basking under the warm sunlight. A breeze whistled through the air, the browning reeds swaying along the riverbank. A long shadow cast its way in front of the Earthmound, shrouding the gathering area with darkness. I could imagine touching noses with my mentor, cats calling my new name, venturing out of the camp without fearing punishment.

"Hey Silverpaw, what did I miss last night?" asked Amberpaw.

"Nothing much," Silverpaw meowed casually. "WindClan has some new apprentices, Darkpaw and Graypaw, and some new kits, Spottedkit, Dapplekit, Emberkit, and Whitekit. ThunderClan has two new apprentices, Leopardpaw and Russetpaw, Swiftflight is pregnant, and Redflower is a warrior. In ShadowClan they drove a fox out of their territory, Mudstream retired to the elder's den, there's a new apprentice, Dustpaw, and Rushtail is the new deputy. Just the usual stuff."

I swiped my tongue over my jaws, burying the bones of the vole and listening to the apprentices' chatter. It caught me by surprise when the conversation turned to me.

"Who do you want as a mentor, Frostkit?" meowed Amberpaw.

"I guess anyone who doesn't have an apprentice would be fine," I muttered. "I know I can't have Nightheart though, 'cause he's my dad. Rainpool would be nice, though. She was the first warrior I met."

"Rainpool is nice, I'd have her if I didn't have Softfeather," Silverpaw mewled, pausing her washing to join in.

"I think you'd do well with Nettleclaw, Frostkit," suggested Amberpaw. "He's a good fighter, and you look strong."

"I can't really imagine myself doing well in battle," I mewled, remembering all the play-fights with Coalkit I'd lost.

Just a bit after I'd got to my feet, Duskstar's yowl rang over the clearing.

"Guess you'll find out!" the ginger tabby purred.

I ran over to join my littermates by the nursery, feeling excitement course through me. I had imagined this moment a thousand times in my head, but the feelings I had could never be imagined by any cat.

"It is time for a very special occasion in RiverClan, the occasion where the smallest members of our Clan come one step closer to becoming proud warriors," Duskstar began. "Moonkit, Frostkit, and Coalkit, the oldest kits in the nursery, are now ready to become RiverClan apprentices. Moonkit, step forward."

Moonkit was nudged to her feet by Cloudfeather and padded up to the base of the Earthmound.

"Moonkit, until you earn your full warrior name, you will be known as Moonpaw. Applepelt, you trained Flowershine with all of your skill and are ready for another apprentice. You will mentor Moonpaw."

Applepelt walked through the crowd and in front of Moonpaw, where they touched noses and went to sit off to the side.

"Coalkit, step forward."

Coalkit wasted no time and ran up in front of Duskstar.

"Coalkit, until Mudstripe decides you have fully learned the path of a medicine cat, you will be known as Coalpaw. Mudstripe, what happened to Tigerpaw was a tragedy, but despite that, your skill as a medicine cat is unmatched. You will mentor Coalpaw."

The medicine cat touched noses with Coalkit, black meeting brown for a moment before they too walked off to the side.

My moment was here. "Frostkit, step forward."

Do I run? Walk? How do I hold my head? High looks too cocky… Questions raced through my head, how to do everything to make me look my best. All I could do there was stand, frozen, all eyes on me.

"Frostkit, go on," Cloudfeather whispered, nudging me forward.

I sighed and stepped forward, pushing away my obsessive thoughts and focusing on making my way up to the front. One step after the other, trotting up with my head level, then sitting down in the open, gazing up at Duskstar.

"Frostkit, until you earn your full warrior name, you will be known as Frostpaw. Breezeflight, you have mentored many fine apprentices in RiverClan and are ready to take on another. You will mentor Frostpaw."

The black and white tom walked up to the front, green eyes sparkling with wisdom. He wasn't an old warrior, but he certainly wasn't a young one either. It felt calming to know an experienced warrior like him was mentoring me. Our noses touched and my eyes widened, the touch confirming my apprenticeship.

"Moonpaw! Coalpaw! Frostpaw! Moonpaw! Coalpaw! Frostpaw!" the crowd shouted, our names echoing across the clearing.

My face practically glowed with pride as my name was called. The moment felt magical, a moment I'd been waiting for since I was only a few moons old. I was finally a RiverClan apprentice.

"Well then, Frostpaw," Breezeflight meowed. "How about a tour of the territory? Moonpaw and Applepelt can come along with us."

He motioned with his tail for me to follow him to the part in the reeds where Applepelt and Breezeflight were already waiting.

"The stones are over here, so it should be easy to cross. Breezeflight will lead, you two in the middle, I'll take the back," ordered Applepelt.

Breezeflight leaped onto the first stone, muscles tensed with great agility as he jumped. Moonpaw followed, stepping tentatively onto the rock instead of leaping. Our first run in with the stones wasn't the greatest memory we three had, so I could see why she was being cautious. Moonpaw stopped behind Breezeflight. Now it was my turn. I got as close as possible and did a little leap, sliding a bit before regaining my footing and padding forward. Once Applepelt was on, we continued to the bank on the other side, emerging through the river weeds and into the wide expanse of territory.

"As you should already know, this is the stream that separates the camp from the rest of the territory," meowed Breezeflight. "We catch fish farther downstream; you'll learn how to hunt them some other time. We'll follow the stream up to the twolegplace and around by the lake towards where battle training is done, by the horseplace."

A cold breeze ruffled my long fur as we made our way along the river, the two warriors in the lead and Moonpaw by my side.

"This is so exciting!" Moonpaw whispered.

"I know, we're finally apprentices!" I whispered back.

"Alright, we're here," meowed Applepelt. "This is the greenleaf twolegplace, it's mostly empty right now, but you can't be too cautious. It gets really busy in greenleaf, so it's best to stay away then, except if you're ever on border patrol. The halfbridge is further up, some twolegs like to jump off of it and swim in the lake. They can try, but they'll never swim as well as RiverClan."

"When will we learn to swim?" I asked. Swimming had always fascinated me, something only us RiverClan cats could do. An asset in battle, a constant source of food, and a special little something that could get us out of some sticky situations.

"Soon enough," she mewed. "There's plenty of time for training before you become a warrior, and swimming is a definite thing to learn if you're to live in RiverClan. Now let's head up to the halfbridge, our border with ShadowClan is there."

After a bit more walking, the lake came into sight, along with the all-too-familiar halfbridge stretching out from the land to the water. Vivid memories of almost drowning raced through my mind, and I shared a knowing look with Moonpaw, who simply nodded and followed the warriors.

"We're going to mark the border, you two are two young to mark, so feel free to explore a bit. Just don't go beyond those pines over there or past the twolegplace," ordered Breezeflight.

Applepelt followed Breezeflight toward the treeline while Moonpaw sniffed along the ground, looking for who knows what. I headed along the halfbridge, sitting on the edge and staring into the water.

I had never taken much notice to my appearance before, even though I took in every detail of everything I'd ever seen. I now realised how little I looked like Cloudfeather, even though I'd always thought I looked exactly like her. Though my face in the lake shifted and rippled, I saw exactly how I looked. I was mostly white, like a cloud on a clear day. But my paws, tail tip, ears, muzzle, and underbelly were a pale gray, like Cloudfeather's fur, and I was longhaired like her too. I had no tabby marks like her, though. My eyes were sky blue, a color I was familiar with due to the warm and clear weather we'd been having.

"Frostpaw, Moonpaw, get over here!" called Breezeflight.

"Is something wrong?" asked Moonpaw.

"No, nothing's wrong. It's time you got familiar with ShadowClan scent. Sniff along here."

I touched my nose to the ground along the treeline, sniffing the spot Breezeflight gestured at. It was fishy, a familiar scent, the scent of RiverClan. But a bit more sniffing revealed another scent, swampy and rancid, with pine thrown in, ShadowClan scent.

"Do you smell it?" mewled Applepelt.

I nodded.

"Good. Remember that smell, you'll smell it often. Whether in battle or at a gathering, it's always an asset to know your scents."

"Well, well, well. If it isn't a bunch of fish-faces hanging around on our border." The jeering meow seemed to come from across the border. "You wanna leave with your faces as they are, or without 'em?"

**A/N Haha, I couldn't wait to post the next chapter! Another cliffhanger! What trouble has Frostpaw gotten into this time? You'll have to keep reading to find out! Thank you for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"No need for threats, Fogflower," growled Breezeflight as a dark gray she-cat with black tabby stripes came into view.

"I think I have all the need for threats, Breezeflight. Seeing as I have you outnumbered, and I also have you on ShadowClan territory," she purred.

A crowd of cats emerged from the trees behind her, featuring a brown tabby tom, a ginger, black, and white tom, a ginger tabby tom, a tortoiseshell, a dappled brown she-cat, and a frosty gray and white tom.

Breezeflight looked bewilderedly at Fogflower. "I'm on RiverClan territory, teaching my new apprentice about scents. We haven't stepped foot on ShadowClan territory."

"Oh dear, seems you don't know the news," Fogflower sighed. "Pinepaw, tell our _dear friend _about the borders."

The gray and white tom, an apprentice, but still larger than me, stepped forward. "ShadowClan has set up some new borders, and you're crossing them. Therefore, we have the right to attack you if you don't leave," he said with a smirk.

"Good job, my dear apprentice," Fogflower purred. She trotted forward arrogantly and marked a pine tree well into RiverClan territory. "This is our new scent line. Now let me repeat. You are crossing the ShadowClan border. Go back to your own territory, or prepare to be clawed."

"Th-this is outrageous!" Applepelt stuttered. "You can't just go marking the borders wherever you want! Duskstar never agreed to give you more territory."

"Now, now, Applepelt," the tortoiseshell meowed. "Flamestar said this was the new border, and the leader's word _is _the warrior code after all. We were just following the code."

"Hollycloud is right," purred Fogflower. "So I'm going to count to three, and you're going to be gone. One…"

"Shut up, Fogflower. We're not kits," growled Breezeflight. "Come on, Moonpaw, Frostpaw. We're going back to camp."

"But what about the rest of the territory?" I asked.

The ginger tabby snickered. "Two…"

"Some other time, Frostpaw. Come on."

I walked dejectedly away beside Moonpaw, glancing back only to see the cats' smug faces staring back. Only my first day as an apprentice and things've already gone wrong, not a good sign.

"Back so soon?" mrrowed Rainpool, putting a few minnows on the fresh kill pile.

"Trouble on the ShadowClan border, we're back to tell Duskstar," said Breezeflight.

"I told him the others were out to get us, I told him we were doomed!" muttered Applepelt, starting off toward the leader's den.

"Go get your nests sorted out while I talk to Duskstar. Frostpaw, we're doing that swimming lesson early," mewed Breezeflight.

My heart jumped as I walked over to the apprentices' den under a young oak tree. Swimming on the first day, not every apprentice got the privilege! I guessed it was because the day was still early and we didn't have to leave camp for it, but it was still exciting to finally be in the water.

I grabbed a few feathers off of a sparrow on the fresh kill pile, along with some moss from some riverside rocks. That would be enough for now, there would be plenty of time to add more moss and other soft things later. I added a few clumps between the roots of the oak where Silverpaw had shown me, padding a bit around the edges and putting the remaining clumps in the middle. I was just feathering around the inside when Breezeflight walked in.

"Alright, Frostpaw, let's get started," he meowed, gesturing with his tail for me to follow him.

"We'll be going a little bit away from the camp, down where the river is deeper," he explained as we followed the riverbank around the triangle of land. "It'll be calmer there, good for your first try. We'll do some practice down by the lake where the current is stronger when you're a stronger swimmer."

I nodded and continued walking. The ground underpaw was damp and cool, with soft grass tickling my legs. The steady flowing of the river added life to the still air, comforting me with the sound I'd known since birth.

The sound of water sloshing awoke me from my trance. It was Breezeflight crawling into the water, standing so the water was up to the middle of his legs. "Come in, Frostpaw. Don't worry, it's shallow here."

I crawled off of the grass and onto the pebbly riverbank, easing myself into the cold water.

"ACK! That's freezing!" I screeched.

"It's always freezing," Breezeflight purred. "Now come closer, it's best we get this lesson started."

I half-walk-half-paddled toward him until the water was up to my gray belly. The cold water tingled on my skin, icy fingers touching through my thick pelt. The water that sloshed over my back slid smoothly off of my fur. Although it was thick, something unnatural for a RiverClan cat, my pelt still shed water like any other.

"Okay, I'm going to grab your scruff, and I want you to paddle, just like walking, but don't touch the ground."

His teeth fastened into my scruff firmly but gently, so I felt no pain. I was lifted, moved through the air so I was over deeper water, and set in. I couldn't touch the ground here and in a moment of panic, I spastically flailed my legs through the water, sending spray everywhere.

"Frostpaw, stop, I've got you," he assured through a mouthful of my fur. His words were muffled but I could still understand, and stopped flailing.

"Good, now paddle your paws, just like walking."

"Just like walking," I repeated breathily.

I placed one paw in front, then another, and another, walking in place, my paws suspended in water. I took a deep breath and made my movements more churning, not as gracefully as the full grown warriors, but still more secure than my strange little water-walk.

"Good, good," muttered Breezeflight. "Steadier, swim to the beat of your heart. The water is in your heart, and you are in the water."

_Ba-dum. Ba-dum. _I focused on the steady rhythm, churning my paws along. I belonged here, in the water, and the water belonged in me. Passed down as descendants of River, one with the river as he was.

"Yes, Frostpaw, yes!" Breezeflight's words were unmuffled, and it was then I realized, my head held above the current, that I was swimming.

"Hhh!" I gasped. I wasn't ready for this, he let go, he let go! Panicking, I lost my rhythm, plunging below the surface, below the current. I drifted toward the bottom, clawing at the water above in an attempt to swim back up. But I wasn't prepared, I hadn't learned to right myself. I was losing air, bubbles floating to the surface, my vision started to blacken and blur…

But then, teeth fastened into my scruff, pulling me up, into the air, and onto the shore. A weight was pushed onto my chest, and released. The weight came down again, this time with the weight lifting and water expelling from my chest. I coughed, water spraying out from my lungs, then air coming in, filling my chest, bringing relief.

"Frostpaw, Frostpaw can you hear me?" meowed Breezeflight.

I nodded weakly.

"Oh thank StarClan, Frostpaw. I was worried it was too late." He grabbed my scruff again.

"Where're we going?" I asked dazedly.

"Back to camp, so you can rest for tomorrow. If you're up to it, we'll swim again. You _can _do it Frostpaw. It's in your blood, and you were swimming like a true RiverClan cat until you panicked."

His words drifted into my mind, coaching my thoughts.

"Breezeflight, I'd like to walk," I mewled.

He set me down on the grass so I was beside him, and we followed along the riverbank, following our history on the way to our present and future.

**A/N: Yay, Frostpaw's first swimming lesson! Bit of a disaster, though, heh. Can any training session go right in these times? Read and find out! Thank you all of my readers!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"The cats going to tonight's gathering are Sparkflight, Mudstripe, Burnscar, Rainpool, Shimmertail, Amberpaw, Coalpaw, Frostpaw, Moonpaw, Softfeather, Flowershine, Nettleclaw, and Eagleclaw."

It was finally time. The time that sends your heart racing and your head spinning with anticipation. Time for my first gathering. In just a few moments I would be running to the lake and crossing the tree bridge to the island with my Clanmates. Heck, I could swim to the island now, after days with Breezeflight to become a stronger swimmer. Okay maybe not yet, but regardless I was stronger now.

Fetching a trout from the fresh kill pile, I walked over to the medicine cat's den where Coalpaw was sitting.

"Have time for something to eat before we leave?" I mrrowed, setting the trout down at his paws. Rain pattered on the ground softly outside, the start of a little sunshower.

"I always have time for trout," he purred, pushing the pile of poppy seeds into one of the many dips in the ground where herbs were kept.

We settled down where the thorn tree hung over, safe from the rain save for the occasional drop that found its way through the branches. I bit in near the tail, not as hungry as Coalpaw, who had been out in the cold hunting for herbs with Mudstripe before the frost settled in. He had already devoured his half, staring at mine with his large amber eyes.

"Take it, I'm not that hungry," I mewed.

He stared up at me. "Are you sure? We're going to be there pretty long."

I shoved the rest of the fish toward him and walked away, away from the tree-covered camp and into the river.

Pebbles shifted beneath my paws and the icy water sent shivers up my legs, but the coolness cleared my mind and my nerves. The water no longer scared me as it had in earlier days, or intrigued me as it had when I was a kit. I now felt at home in it, knowing all of its secrets, its unpredictability, its place in the soul of every RiverClan cat.

"Frostpaw, come on! We're leaving now!" called Softfeather.

I nodded, stepping out of the river and shaking the icy droplets off of my long pelt. The crowd of cats going were gathered, waiting for the last few cats to arrive. I stepped in place beside Breezeflight and waited as well, before Duskstar gave the signal and we bolted across the wet land.

The older, stronger warriors raced ahead, leaving me near the back by my littermates. Ahead I could see Breezeflight slowing his pace until he eventually came to be running beside me.

"Come on, pick it up!" he meowed. "You'll have to run this path many times in your life, best learn to run it well!"

He ran behind me, nudging me forward as we dodged around trees and bushes, water and mud splashing our pelts. My heart was racing, I was no WindClan cat, but I knew I had to keep moving ahead.

"That's it!" My mentor's words encouraged me as my paws thundered on the wet ground.

Soon we were caught up with the crowd, sliding in like a stream of water into the throng. The lapping waves of the lake soon were heard, and in a few moments we were running along the sandy shore, tall grass tickling my legs.

The crowd merged into a dual file line, cats pairing up, young warriors supporting the elders. I could hear murmurs from the island across the lake as I shuffled forward until it was my turn to cross the tree bridge, Moonpaw at my side and Coalpaw only a few paces behind beside Mudstripe.

We leaped up, digging our claws into the wet tree bark. Taking wobbly steps we continued on, too nervous to look down at the inky water below. The others talked so casually as they crossed, making us stick out like a thorn in your paw. But after a few more steps we were at the end, leaping off onto solid ground, muddy sand squelching between our paws.

The crowd once again merged, walking into the tree-covered island until the we were in a clearing with a single tall pine in the center. More cats than I had ever seen in my life were there. ShadowClan, WindClan, and for the first time, ThunderClan. We were the last to arrive. Coalkit meowed his goodbye to me as he followed Mudstripe, Sparkflight, and Duskstar to the pine, Duskstar leaping up on a low branch with the other leaders. I sat near the front with Moonpaw and some other apprentices from WindClan.

"Now that RiverClan is here, I would like to start," a bright golden tom with jagged black stripes meowed.

"Go ahead, Hornetstar," meowed Palestar.

"ThunderClan is doing well this past moon. Although we don't have any new warriors, kits, or apprentices, the prey is good and we are ready for leafbare. But no matter that, I have an important announcement to make."

The crowd's ears pricked with intrest.

"I'm not the spry young leader I used to be, these gray hairs didn't pop out of nowhere, heh. So now it is time that I retired to the elders' den. I trust that my deputy, Willowcloud, will make a fine leader, and will bring ThunderClan great glory."

Hornetstar leaped down from the pine, the gray tabby sitting at the roots with the other deputies taking his place.

"Willowcloud! Willowcloud!" the crowd cheered.

"Thank you, all. I promise to lead ThunderClan just as well as the leaders before me," she purred. "Now Flamestar, would you care to speak?"

The strong ginger and white tabby stepped up, his different colored eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "ShadowClan is thriving, even in these cold leaf-fall moons. Sorrelface has given birth to four new kits, Gingerkit, Rosekit, Creamkit, and Rowankit. The prey is running well and we've had no trouble with rouges or other animals. Other Clans, we can say different. The new borders were in act long ago, and RiverClan has crossed them."

"Flamestar," Duskstar said calmly. "I was told about these 'new borders', and I can say very confidently that you never gained permission to expand into RiverClan territory."

"You cannot take territory that isn't yours, it's a rule that has been in place since the time of the old forest," meowed Palestar.

Willowcloud nodded as well.

"If you do not recede back your border we will be forced to battle. RiverClan will continue marking its borders as usual, and any ShadowClan warrior that crosses will be driven off," declared Duskstar.

"Well if this matter is done, WindClan has news to share," mewed Palestar. "Yes? Alright. WindClan has two new apprentices, Graypaw and Darkpaw."

"Graypaw! Darkpaw!" the crowd cheered.

The apprentices next to us were beaming with pride.

"Congratulations," I mewed to them.

"Heh, thanks!" meowed the black one, Darkpaw.

"The prey is well and there is no trouble…"

She was completely dismissing the battle! If I were leader I'd have given at least a reason.

"Duskstar?"

The RiverClan leader stepped forward.

"We have three new apprentices, Frostpaw, Moonpaw, and Coalpaw, who will be training as a medicine cat."

"Frostpaw, Moonpaw, Coalpaw!" the crowd cheered.

Now it was my turn to be proud.

"Congratulations to you too," Darkpaw purred.

My heart beat fast as he stared at me with gleaming green eyes. "Th-thanks."

"Though there was some border trouble and a little skirmish, we are healthy and doing well in RiverClan." Duskstar flicked his tail to dismiss the gathering, and the crowd filtered out onto the tree bridge, some staying behind to talk with friends.

I felt a tail brush along my spine and looked back to see Darkpaw, purring as her followed the WindClan cats. Later I would learn this was a way of saying goodbye for WindClan cats, but either way it made me shiver while also sending a pulse of heat through my body.

My first gathering and I managed not to make a fool of myself. Success.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

_I was padding along the riverbank, the cool breeze ruffling my fur. But as I made my way down to the lake, a new sight emerged. Instead of the lake, a large waterfall stood, cascading clear water down the side of a gray cliff face. Fish leaped out of the spray, fish bigger than rabbits. Licking my jaws, I ran to the waterfall and hooked out a paw, flinging a fish onto the ground beside me. It was huge, and I could just imagine digging in. But just as I was about to take the first bite, the fish…screamed?_

My blue eyes jolted open. The screaming continued, but it was no dream. I stood up, shaking out my tired muscles and walking out from under the oak. The screaming seemed to be coming from Duskstar's den by the Earthmound.

As I walked over, I could see other cats waking up as well, even though it was still early in the morning. They were obviously woken up from the same thing.

"Duskstar?" I mewed sleepily at the entrance of the den. No response, but the screaming had stopped.

I took a breath and entered the den, preparing for the worse, seeing the worst. Duskstar lied in his nest, dark amber eyes glazed over, blood pooled around a neat gash in his throat. His body was still, not even the breeze daring to move his dark fur. Applepelt was standing beside his body, rigid with fear, mouth agape in what was the source of the screaming.

I couldn't even scream. My jaw hung slack, unable to make any noise save for softly squealing intake of breath. But I couldn't stand there forever. I had to do something.

"Duskstar!" I yowled running into the middle of the camp. "Duskstar's been murdered! Duskstar is dead!"

Every cat's head snapped to attention, some rushing over to the den to see if it were true.

"Frostpaw, step aside." Mudstripe nudged cats out of the way, moving into the den to examine Duskstar's body. A few moments later he stepped out, along with Applepelt, who was wailing softly and muttering.

"I'm afraid it is true," he sighed grimly. "Duskstar has been murdered, murdered by another cat. The gash in his neck is too neat for a fox or badger, and was made with a single claw. His body is rather cold, so he must have died late last night."

Sparkflight stepped up, quivering slightly at the death of the cat he called his leader. "Please, if anyone knows what happened, do not hesitate to tell. If you saw something last night, or if one of us, though it may be far-fetched, left their den last night. Anything helps, just as long as we can find out who did this."

No one said a word, save for Applepelt's wailing.

The deputy sighed. "Very well. If anyone finds any new information, do not hesitate to come to me. We will hold vigil for Duskstar starting after moonrise, and a new deputy will be elected today. I will journey to the Moonpool tomorrow, and take Frostpaw, Moonpaw, and Mudstripe."

Sitting in the middle of the island, I stared at Eagleclaw and Bluewhisker who were carrying Duskstar's body over to where I was sitting.

"Up, Frostpaw," mewed Bluewhisker.

Hesitantly I got to my paws, moved a few steps over, and sat back down, gaze unmoving from the leader's body. The elders set it down and bowed their heads with respect, sitting down around his body. Gradually a crowd gathered, laying down wildflowers around his still form. Coalpaw came out of his den with Mudstripe, sprinkling mint and thyme along with other sweet-smelling herbs to mask the scent of death that had begun to settle over him.

After he finished, he dipped his head and sat down beside me, and I leaned my head on his shoulder, white fur mingling with black. We both had many words, yet none would escape, grief and shock blocking our voices. The sun was only starting to drift to the middle of the sky, yet the air was cooler and the sky seemed darker. The shorter and colder days were settling in, and the leaf-fall chill matched the mood of every RiverClan cat.

"I never knew he was on his last life," I managed to choke out after a while.

"I knew," Coalkit responded, his warm breath tickling my ear fur. "Mudstripe knew I was destined to be a medicine cat when I knew."

"Duskstar told you?"

"I just felt it."

"Hm."

"Moonpaw knows he's dead now. She doesn't want to see his body."

"Not even for last respects?"

"She can barely stand injuries, this is too much."

The grief-filled silence that had enveloped the den was suddenly broken by splashes in the water and a rustle in the reed barrier. A few heads turned to the noise, including mine, to see Rainpool padding through with a fish in her jaws. Her eyes locked onto the body of Duskstar, and she quickly threw her prey down on the pile before rushing to the center of the clearing.

"Burnscar?" Rainpool stood beside the red-brown tom.

"He's been murdered. Killed by a cat. But there's no evidence…" His words trailed off, eyes slowly looking down toward Rainpool's paws. My eyes followed, and my jaw dropped slightly, seeing the scarlet flecks between her gray toes.

Noticing where Burnscar was looking, the tabby quickly mewed, "I was hunting, Burnscar. You can't think it was me!"

"I'm sorry, Rainpool." Sparkflight moved toward Rainpool. "But you were out of camp and this is serious. The murder of a leader is no little border crossing. I'll have to have Mudstripe examine your paws."

By now the whole Clan was watching with both horror and intrigue. I couldn't believe that the cat I wanted to be my mentor at first would be accused of killed Duskstar. But at this moment anything could happen, a first lead could either mean we'd have to keep looking or that a Clanmate had killed their own leader.

Mudstripe walked toward Rainpool and started closely examining her paws, stopping when he came to her right paw. "There's blood flecks on this one claw," he declared. A few cats gasped and started to murmur, but he raised his striped tail for silence. He sniffed the claw, paused, sniffed again, and lifted his head, backing up. "It's Duskstar's scent," he gasped, horror on his face.

Within heartbeats most of the crowd's expressions matched Mudstripes, jaws dropped and eyes widened with fear and surprise. I got to my paws, staring at Rainpool, my face emotionless yet everything inside of me wanted to scream, "Traitor!" and pin the tabby to the ground. But I had to be strong, show Coalpaw and Moonpaw I wasn't afraid, comfort them, and show them they were safe.

"No, no! You don't understand!" Rainpool gasped. "It- I-I mean-"

"Rainpool," Sparkflight meowed rather cooly, walking over to Rainpool. "We have the evidence here, unless there is some other reason you have his blood on your paws."

"I," she managed to stutter, breathing heavily. "I uh-"

"Right now you are still a RiverClan warrior, and because of this I am now your leader. Answer me. Make what may be your last words as a Clan cat count so StarClan may give you a sliver of a chance to be redeemed when you die."

She breathed in deeply. "Yes. I killed Duskstar."

"No, no, no." Burnscar shook his head, taking a step back. "Rainpool, why? Why would you do this? Why would you hurt me and your Clan?"

"Burnscar…I can't say."

"But I thought-"

"Get over me!" she yowled, fur bristling slightly on her scruff. "You aren't the only one who's breaking! You don't understand."

"Care to help me understand?"

"He's dead and I killed him. I had to kill him, but I can't tell you." Her fur bristled more, sticking up like thistle spikes. "Now leave, you can't love a murderer and I can never love a cat as perfect as you."

"I hate to do this, see a good warrior go. But it must be done." Sparkflight leaped up on the Earthmound. "I say these words before all of RiverClan and the unseen ancestors before us so that these words are known and made true. Rainpool is no longer a RiverClan cat, and is to be attacked and driven off like a rogue if seen on RiverClan or any Clan territory. Bassfang, Earthstone, Amberpaw, Fadedpatch, see Rainpool to the border, and stay until I send a patrol to fetch you so that we are sure she has left. Others, stay here, it is time to elect a new deputy."

The four cats gathered around Rainpool and headed out of the camp, closely watching the new rogue.

"Amidst these tragedies we must remain strong, and do so by electing a new deputy to take my place as leader if I am incapable," he began.

I looked at the sky as I walked forward, seeing the first few stars appear in the sky. I hadn't known so much time had passed, the tension and shock made it seem as if we were the only things in the world.

"I say these words before the spirits of StarClan so that my choice may be approved. Softfeather is the new deputy of RiverClan."

The fluffy furred gray she-cat stepped forward, dipping her head. A few cats called her name, but mostly the crowd was silent.

"Thank you," she mewed. "I will try my best to be a great deputy."

Before I could move Coalpaw was at my side again, and his warmth was somewhat of a comfort. "What do you think?"

"About what?" I whispered.

"All this."

"Unfortunate, but everything is going to be fine." My words sounded sure, but deep down I didn't know if I was telling the truth. Keep strong, keep strong, for Coalpaw and Moonpaw, I kept repeating in my mind.

Coalpaw sighed. "Promise."

"Mmmh." I nodded. "Promise."

**A/N: Oooh, a little bit of drama, don'tcha think? Things are just starting to heat up! Sorry this took so long, school's starting up again and I don't have as much time to write. But I'm trying to set a goal and update every Saturday. Thank you, readers and reviewers! You're the ones that encourage me! **


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